1.1 The contemporary context1. Give two examples from contemporary culture that illustrate the human search for meaning. Examples may be taken from music, art, literature, or youth culture2. Provide two examples of each of the following key questions that emerge in contemporary culture: the goal and purpose of life; the meaning of good and evil; the experience of suffering3. Identify cultural factors in contemporary society that can block the search for meaning4. Give two examples of the contemporary phenomenon of indifference to the search for meaning.

1.2 The tradition of search1. Give a brief definition and explanation of the nature and purpose of philosophy in terms of the search for meaning and values2. In the case of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle present a summary of two of their main ideas and explain why each idea was important in the development of philosophy3. Outline the place of the Sophists in the society of ancient Greece and their importance in the development of philosophical thought4. On the question of the search for meaning identify and briefly explain three key moments in the development of philosophical thought from the classical to the contemporary period.

2.1 The language of symbol1. Explain why symbol emerged in the formulation of responses to the questions of life in each case, give an example of the power of symbolic language on – individuals, groups, societies.

2.2 The tradition of response1. Outline three myths from ancient cultures which attempt to answer key questions2. Provide evidence of religious behaviour in ancient societies from each of the following: rites of passage and initiation; rites of burial and sacrifice; sacred art and artefacts3. Provide evidence of the sense of the sacred in contemporary culture4. Provide evidence of spirituality in contemporary culture5. Identify three key people in the humanist tradition. In each case, briefly outline one key idea of their teaching6. Define and explain atheism and agnosticism briefly outline two cosmologies of modern science7. Briefly explain each of the following non-religious responses to the questions of life:– the secular humanist tradition :– atheism :– agnosticism :– reductionism.

3.1 The gods of the ancients1. Give two examples of the gods in ancient myths2. Explain and give two examples of polytheism3. Describe briefly the emergence of monotheism4. Explain the concept of God in each of the monotheistic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

3.2 The concept of revelation1. Explain the concept of divine revelation2. Explain the significance of divine revelation in two different religious traditions3. Show the impact of the concept of divine revelation on religious practice and on the interpretation of religious texts in the two religious traditions4. Outline the understanding of the transcendent in two religious traditions.

3.3 Naming God, past and present1. Name and explain three traditional and three contemporary images of God2. Explain and give an example of each of the following religious interpretations of contemporary human experience: the prophetic, the mystical, the holy, the poetic, the aesthetic3. Outline the traditional proofs of God in the writings of Anselm, Aquinas, and two others.

4.1 Religion as a source of communal values1. Outline the relationship between the understanding of the transcendent/God and the concept of the person in two religious traditions2. Give two examples of how these connections determine behavioural norms in religious traditions.​4.2 Secular sources of communal values1. Identify three key moments in the emergence of an independent secular value system2. Show how communal values can be shaped by sources other than religion3. Describe three different ways in which religions relate to secular culture.